While Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine has resulted in a decoupling with the West on a scale not seen since the worst years of the Cold War, Russia has not been isolated from the non-Western world and has even reinvested its diplomatic energy toward the Global South.

Russia / NIS

Russia—as a great power, an emerging market and an energy heavyweight—is intriguing. Both Russia and the post-Soviet space tend to be somewhat volatile and impenetrable.
The Russia/NIS Center, however, casts light on this region. Created in 2004, it anticipates new developments, enriches public debate and empowers decision-making on issues related to Russia and the New Independent States (NIS).
The Center regularly publishes papers on a wide array of themes, from central issues (such as the interaction between foreign policy and energy policy) to topics that are more innovative in France such as the Russian government’s attitude to internet governance, and the competitiveness of Russian universities.
The Center’s digital collection Russie.Nei.Visions (set up in 2005 and available in Russian, English and French) has become an important resource. Its analyses are widely disseminated via social networks and our researchers have a strong presence in French and international media.
Since the Center’s fouding, Ifri has hosted several top political representatives and key economic players in the Russian/NIS space. Attendees at Ifri’s seminars and conferences, include former Ukrainian presidents V. Yushchenko and V. Yanukovych, former Georgian president M. Saakashvili and Russian Minister for Economic Development A. Ulyukayev.
The Center maintains a strong presence in the field, staying close to public authorities and multinational firms in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) area. It has also developed many partnerships with think tanks and research institutes in Europe, the United States, China, Japan and the post-Soviet space.
Director of Ifri's Russia-NIS Center
...Research Fellow, Russia / NIS Center
...Project Officer, Russia/NIS Center
Associate Research Fellow, Russia/NIS Center
...Associate Research Fellow, Russia/NIS Center
...Associate Research Fellow, Russia / NIS Center
...Associate Research Fellow, Russia/NIS Center
...Associate Fellow, Russia/NIS Center and Geopolitics of Technologies Program
...Associate Fellow, Russia/NIS Center
...





China-Russia cooperation in space has been increasing for the past two decades. This cooperation accelerated after the Crimea crisis in 2014 and culminated with the announcement in 2021 of the joint construction of the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).<...>
From the reestablishment of an Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan by the Taliban to the war in Ukraine, not forgetting climate change, the most serious international crises, whether circumstantial or systemic, are having a severe impact on connectivity in Central Asia with regard to transport,...
Italy’s new far-right government has been widely perceived as the potential weak spot of the anti-Kremlin European front following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: traditionally pro-Putin politicians such as Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi are back in power. Yet, after Mario Draghi’s hawkish...
The blame for committing the blunder of starting the war with Ukraine is deservedly placed on President Vladimir Putin, but a single-explanation interpretation of the unfolding disaster is unsatisfactory.
The two years preceding the Russian invasion of Ukraine suggested that Russia had adopted a measured policy toward the post-Soviet space. Faced with social protests in Belarus, a coup in Kyrgyzstan, the victory of pro-European president Maia Sandu in Moldova, the second war in Nagorno-Karabakh...
For its 41st edition, RAMSES 2023. Europe at War, written by Ifri's research team and external experts, offers an in-depth and up-to-date analysis of geopolitics in today’s world.
Despite the unprecedented sanctions against Russia following Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine on February 24, 2022, no important member of Russia's ruling circles has defected.
Ukrainian institutions have overall withstood the shock of the war: the central government and local authorities benefit from a real legitimacy and a solid ability to govern.
On February 24, 2022, eight years after deploying an integrated military and non-military indirect strategy against Kiev, Vladimir Putin decided to initiate an open war against Ukraine.
Ukraine: On the Way to the European Union through the War. Online Briefing by Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna Videoconference
Nine months after the start of the Russian aggression, Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, discusses the situation in Ukraine and the country's prospects.
Ukraine: the epicenter of all crises? Ifri Conferences
Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February provoked a war of attrition that is still ongoing. In the meantime, the conflict has fueled intertwined economic, humanitarian, energy and food crises. This discussion aims to discern the conflict's immediate and future effects.
Toward a New European Security Order? Foreign Policy Shifts in Response to Russia’s War on Ukraine Ifri Conferences
Russia’s war on Ukraine has shaken the foundations of Western foreign policy and the multilateral rules-based order. Institutions built to preserve this order – like NATO, the G7, and the EU – have had to rethink their threat assessments and postures. France, Germany, Italy, and the UK have...
Russian War against Ukraine: State of Affairs by Igor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Visioconférence
More than a month after the start of the Russian offensive against Ukraine, Igor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, will speak on the current military situation and the prospects for...
Security Situation in and Around Ukraine. Online Briefing by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba Closed-Door Seminar
Since 2014, Ukraine's territorial integrity and security have been challenged by Russia's annexation of Crimea and by the conflict in Donbas. Military maneuvers in spring and October 2021 have raised the threat of open armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Kyiv, on the other hand,...
Russia-US: What Perspectives after Joe Biden’s Election? Videoconference
After four years of a Trump presidency marked by “Russiagate”, the election of Joe Biden at the end of 2020 marks a new turning point in Russian-American relations. While the change in the American administration allowed the New START treaty on strategic arms reduction to be saved in...
European security: from words to deeds - lessons from the Franco-Danish partnership Visioconférence
Global power competition, growing unpredictability, mounting military pressures, hybrid threats and the persistence of terrorism... Europe is now facing a deterioration of its strategic environment.
...
From Navalny to Biden: the Multiple Fronts of President Putin Les Jeudis de l'Ifri
A "Les Jeudis de l'Ifri" videoconférence around Tatiana KASTOUEVA-JEAN,...
The European space sector in a context of international competition Webinar
The access to space sector is no longer limited to the historic pioneers of the space adventure nor to the sole states. Exploration projects stimulate imagination and national narratives and trigger important investments in ambitious innovative projects.
Rethinking the EU-Russia relationship after Borrell’s Moscow visit or: How to deal with Russia after Borrell’s visit to Moscow Videoconference
The EU-Russia relationship, which has been deteriorating since 2014, has recently experienced various shocks, such as the poisoning, then imprisonment of opposition leader Alexey Navalny and the failure of EU High Representative Josep Borrell’s diplomatic visit to Moscow. Judging by Russian...
Does the war in Ukraine change the prospect of European Union enlargement? What is the possibility and future of Europe's common foreign and security policy? Does russian aggression unite or unify Europe and what is the role of the European political community? What is Russia's ultimate...
Kyiv expects new recruits to appear within two months but Moscow struggles with training and logistical obstacles.
Following the last Ukrainian victories over the Russian Army in the Kharkiv oblast, Russian administration currently faces controversies. As a matter of fact, many question the degree of intensity Russian general staff has decided, avoiding for now general mobilization. According to Dimitri...
As elections approach Sunday, the far-right candidate is linked to the Russian president by a web of financial ties and a history of support that has hardly dimmed despite the war in Ukraine.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the port city of Mariupol, located on the Sea of Azov, has been of great strategic interest to Moscow. Vladimir Putin has made it a symbolic objective.
Renault had for months been plotting to export a newfangled version of the Lada to the reste of the world. although realising that ambition remained some way off, it would have capped the revival of a brand arguably more synonymous with the Soviet Union than any other and which Renault first...
Officials in Beijing believe it can take advantage of a distracted US and weakened Russia. The war in Ukraine is far from over, but a consensus is forming in Chinese policy circles that one country stands to emerge victorious from the turmoil: China.
...In January 2022 Kazakhstan underwent its most serious political crisis since its independence, proclaimed on December 16, 1991. The increase in the price of fuel has set ablaze the west of the country in the grip of socio-economic marginalization, then the southern regions, traditionally more...
Data on the concentration of Russian troops was solid; the diplomatic offensive executed by Moscow was deliberately disagreeable; yet, many experts (myself including) refused to accept the proposition on the coming war as “inevitable”.
Western powers appear unable to thwart Putin’s strategy to reassert Russian influence